Year One: The Resurrection Stone
by Ciara3
Summary: It's year one at Hogwarts for Albus Potter. Life has been peaceful for nineteen years, but it sounds like there could be more trouble blooming on the horizon, and Albus might be involved more heavily than he wished.


**A/N: This is not my primary story, so it will probably not get updated as often as I would like. Also, what's involved in its title may or may not happen - the plot line isn't fixed, and I don't outline before I write.**

**Also, I'm dividing this chapter into two parts because it almost hit 4k words. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Albus Severus…" Al whispered quietly to himself as the Hogwarts express sped away from the station. He started as Rose grabbed his arm.

"Come _on_, Al. Let's go find a compartment before they're all full."

"Okay." In spite of his nerves, Al grinned. "But not with James, okay? I don't think I can stand to be around him one more second."

"Deal."

Together they sped down the aisle, Rose leading. They stepped deftly in between excited students, trying not to get crushed by the older ones. Rose stopped suddenly outside a compartment. Al ran into her.

She motioned toward the door and said, "This is our best option. Everywhere else is full."

Al peeked inside and groaned. "But Rose, _Scorpius_ is in that compartment. What if we sit with him in the train, and then up in Slytherin because of it?"

"You worry too much. Now come _on_!" Rose slid open the door and dragged Al into the compartment.

"Mind if we sit here?" she asked Scorpius. "Everywhere else is full."

Scorpius stared at them with his grey eyes, as if sizing them up. James stared back. Scorpius's dirty-blond hair fell in a mop on top of his head with bangs that came right down to his eyes. His skin was pale, and he was extremely skinny.

"Sure." He finally answered, although it seemed a little begrudgingly.

Al and Rose sat down in the seat across from him. She smiled at him.

"I'm Rose Weasley, and this is my cousin Albus-"

"Al," Al corrected her.

Rose rolled her eyes and continued, "Al Potter."

At the mention of their last names, Scorpius raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"I'm Scorpius Malfoy." He slowly extended his hand and they shook, although not without slight hesitation from Al.

"Well, this is it!" exclaimed Rose excitedly. "We're off to Hogwarts."

"Yeah," said Al. He tried to sound excited, but couldn't keep a slight tremor out of his voice.

"Oh, come off it, Al," said Rose, a slightly exasperated note in your voice. "You'll be fine. We're going home for Christmas anyways."

When Al only nodded in reply, Rose turned and addressed Scorpio.

"What house do you think you'd like to be in?"

"I don't really know. I think I'd almost like to be in Gryffindor, but Slytherin would be better. Tradition, you know. Ravenclaw – I don't want to be one of those know-it-alls." Rose looked hurt, but Scorpius's mouth twisted into a sneer, "And Hufflepuff? Anything is better than them."

Before either of them could reply, the door to the compartment burst open loudly.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" asked James loudly. "Am I really seeing you two," he pointed to Al and Rose, "with _him_?" He eyed Scorpius quickly.

"James, go away," groaned Al.

"Fine. Far be it from me to tell you who your friends are." He stepped back out of the compartment. "But let me at least talk to you in the hall for a minute."

Al shot what he hoped was an apologetic look at Scorpius, although he really wasn't feeling too apologetic at the moment, and then stepped out with James.

"James! Scorpius isn't that bad!" exclaimed Al as soon as James had shut the door to the compartment behind him.

"First impressions can be deceiving," James said with a grin. He then became more serious. "Look, I just don't want you making friends with the wrong type."

"The wrong type?" asked Al in disbelief. "James – he just said himself he wants to be in Gryffindor." Al gave an indignant huff and turned to open the compartment door.

"Al-" James put a hand on Al's shoulder. "I just don't want you doing anything stupid."

"Yeah, okay." Al turned back around to the compartment door and opened it. He stepped into the small compartment, and, as he turned around to close the door, opened his mouth to say something more to James – but James was already gone.

Al sank back into the seat beside Rose.

"He's just being protective, you know," Rose told him quietly.

"Yeah, I know. I guess I'd do the same thing for Lily." The truth was, Al knew he would do exactly the same for Lily. With only thirteen months between them, they were the best of friends – they were inseparable. Al hated having to leave Lily behind for Hogwarts. He wanted her to come as much as she wanted to come herself.

"I'm going to write to her as soon as I get the chance."

Rose smiled at him and said, "She'd like that."

"So you have an older brother and a younger sister?" Scorpius asked Al quietly.

Al glanced at him curiously. "Yeah. My older brother – James – well, you've met him. He's in third year. I have a little sister named Lily as well. She's only a year younger than me – she'll be here next year."

"And there's Teddy," Rose added.

"Oh yeah, and Teddy Lupin. He's not a brother, really. He's my – 'godbrother,' I guess you could say. His parents died right after he was born. He lived with his grandparents, but we always had them around a lot. He's training to be an Auror now."

"That's nice." Scorpius smiled. It seemed a little forced to Al, but it was a smile nonetheless. "I don't have any siblings. I dunno, though. If I end up in Gryffindor, my father might reconsider." He grinned for real this time.

Al caught Rose's eye when he said "my father" and grinned. It wounded strangely reminiscent of stories they had heard about Draco Malfoy, although he didn't seem to mean the phrase in the same type of way.

"I just have a younger brother," put in Rose. "His name is Hugo. But Mum's going to have another baby soon. It's due around Christmas."

They lapsed into silence, but soon the conversation started back up again, as they speculated what school would be like. Al and Scorpius both changed into their robes, and finally, they arrived at the Hogwarts station.

As they filed off the train together, Al and Rose tried to stick close, frightened of being separated from each other by the tidal wave of students.

Before they knew it, they were in the boats with Hagrid leading them across the lake. The ride passed in a blur of shapes in the darkness. But Al would never, ever, forget his first sight of Hogwarts. The castle sat on top of a hill, the windows glowing brightly with warmth and welcome. The first years trooped inside and were left in a room adjacent to the Entrance Hall to wait for the Sorting.

They sat for what seemed like hours, until finally someone walked into the room. She was definitely a professor. She appeared very stern, although the tips of her mouth twitched upward and her face was creased from smiling often.

"I am Headmistress Moussavinasab, however, if you find it easier – as many people do – you may call me Professor M for short." She smiled at them all. "In a moment we will go into the Great Hall where you will be sorted."

Al groaned quietly.

"Once you have been sorted, you will sit with the rest of your house. From where you will be standing at the front, the tables in order from your left to your right are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor."

They stood for a few minutes while she arranged them in a line in alphabetical order. They then followed her out into the Great Hall.

They walked slowly in a line along the front of the Hall. Al wished the line would hurry up; he hated having everyone stare at him. Then, everyone in the hall turned their gaze to the Hat. It began to sing, but Al's nerves were much too high to pay attention to what it said, although he was pretty sure there was something about putting aside old quarrels and uniting once again. Finally, Professor M began calling names.

The list began with Emma Akers, who was pronounced a Slytherin almost as soon as the Sorting hat touched her head. It went on like this. Al paid more attention when Scorpius was called. The hat was on his head for more than a minute before it announced to the whole hall, "SLYTHERIN!"

Al let out a loud groan. Would talking to Scorpius on the train affect what house he would be placed in?

More names were called before it was finally Al's turn. The whole time he was waiting in line, his nerves had been mounting. Now, as he walked to the stool, he dared not look anywhere else, for fear that he might faint. As he sat on the stool, he scanned the hall, looking for James. He saw him sitting at the Gryffindor table. His friends were talking, but James' full attention was on Al. When James saw Al looking his way, he flashed a quick grin and gave a thumbs up before the Sorting hat fell over Al's head, blocking his view of everything completely.

_Hmmm, let's see…_ The Sorting Hat spoke into Al's mind, causing him to jump in fright.

_A bit jumpy today, are we? Not to matter, not to matter, they all are. Let's see… you have lots of skill, oh, no doubt about that. And you seem to be quite friendly. You're very loyal, oh yes, and you will be in the future, but to whom, I wonder? There's some bravery in there, although you may not be showing it at this point in time…_

Al suddenly became very aware of how tightly he had been clenching the bench he was sitting on. He loosened his grip slightly.

_Well, you are tricky. You have a lot of ambition, too. I wonder, I wonder… How would Slytherin suit you?_

"Not Slytherin," Al moaned so quietly that his mouth barely moved.

_ Are you sure about that, hm? Albus Severus Potter._

Al shuddered but considered what the hat was saying. Albus _Severus_. He had always heard how Dad had talked about Severus Snape with such high respect, bordering on reverence, and he had been a Slytherin, hadn't he?

_Second guessing ourselves, now, are we?_

Al tried his best to ignore the hat. "Besides, even if I were in Slytherin, I could still be brave, smart, and loyal," he muttered quietly to himself.

_Changing our mind, now? You might find that easier said than done, but if that is what you want…_

"SLYTHERIN!"


End file.
